As the title says. Eratosthenes says the Siege of Troy lasted from 1194 to 1184 B.C. Wikipedia says the modern dates are 1260 to 1180. That's 80 years? If someone could answer the reason for such a big difference, that would be cool.
Also, How does a town last that long under siege? Even basic grain storage couldn't last 10 years of continual use could it? Where did they get supplies? Food, Water, Ect.
And, What are some of the longest sieges in history? Do we have first hand or second hand accounts of what living and possibly growing up under siege was like?
Thank you guys!
A few months ago (maybe a year back) I answered a similar question on Troy.
Basically, most towns or forts that expect to be under siege have certain protections, such as grain storage, underground wells, tunnels, etc, that allow them to contact and supply themselves from the outside.
Specifically onto the siege of Troy, we know that Wilusa (the location of Troy) has underground wells that allow them to supply the city, but we also know they had contacts with the Hittites from clay tablets. It's not entirely clear what this relationship was, but the Trojan war involved the Hittites as either an ally or protector of Troy. Thus, it is not difficult to see that the siege (if it was in fact a decade long affair) was a not always a siege, but a continuous campaign where the Hittites and Trojans may have pushed back the Mycenaeans before being pushed back themselves in a sort of tug-of-war match. Grain supply then would not be as big of an issue as the relieving forces could resupply Troy when they had the upper hand.
Regarding the longest siege, that would be the 21 year long siege of Candia in Crete by the Ottomans.
I don't have any specific accounts of sieges, but the siege of Dubrovnik is a good place to start as that had modern coverage.